SEPTEMBER 173 



these and all the hardy bulbs now to be mentioned 

 must be plunged under a suitable covering in their 

 earliest stage. I prefer peat from a heathy wood, 

 sifted to get rid of the coarse pieces, but sand will 

 do quite as well. Ashes should not be used, as 

 they sometimes give out poisonous gases which 

 spoil the bulbs. The boxes or pots may be placed 

 close together in the open, and then covered with at 

 least four inches of the plunging material. 



If the amateur has only a dozen Roman hyacinths 

 they may be planted in three five-inch pots, and 

 treated as follows : When they have been plunged 

 for five or six weeks they should be examined to 

 see if they have rooted, and if the roots are getting 

 fairly strong the pots may be put in a cold frame 

 for two or three more weeks. Where so few are 

 grown there is no object in having them too early, 

 and they will be all the better for being kept out of 

 the greenhouse for a little time, unless the weather 

 is cold. They can be removed to the stage and 

 brought on for any date that they may be wanted. 

 The gardener, on the other hand, who has a 

 hundred or more may plant, perhaps, thirty or 

 fifty closely together in a box, moving them to 

 the greenhouse when rooted, and they will bloom 

 in November. The rest can be potted or boxed as 

 required, and a succession thus ensured. But they 

 will not consent to be kept back so long as one 

 could wish, and for late January and February 

 one can have the white or blue Italians, both of 

 which are very beautiful, though not quite so 

 early as the Romans. At the same time as these 

 hyacinths may be potted or boxed the paper white 



